


Phobia

by Inell



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Dubious Consent, Ficlet, Friendship, Post-Hogwarts, Second War with Voldemort, The Quidditch Pitch: Leaving Feast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-17
Updated: 2008-12-17
Packaged: 2018-10-25 17:53:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10769391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inell/pseuds/Inell
Summary: Harry faces an irrational fear





	Phobia

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** #1 of 10 for [](http://community.livejournal.com/livelongnmarry/profile)[**livelongnmarry**](http://community.livejournal.com/livelongnmarry/) auction winner [](http://heeroluva.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://heeroluva.livejournal.com/)**heeroluva**

Dragons are associated with Cedric's death and escaping Gringotts. When Harry first arrives at the reserve, he only sees death and fear when he looks at them. It's one reason he chose to visit Charlie during his two week holiday. Hermione's nattered on at him before about facing the past and not letting fears control him. It's not that he's afraid of dragons, really. He just can't think about them without having negative thoughts. He's twenty-four, though, and he hates that there's something out there that makes him anxious, so he's finally trying to do something about his phobia.

Charlie loves dragons. It's obvious to anyone who talks with him how much joy he gets from his job. He's the perfect person to help Harry deal with this ridiculous anxiety. Not only is he knowledgeable, but he's got a gentle strength that helps Harry confess things that he hasn't really told anyone before. If it gets out that he has a very slight fear of dragons, despite having fought one successfully and ridden another in a story well-known by the wizarding community, he can imagine the articles and gossip. Skeeter would use it against him somehow, and his fellow Aurors wouldn't let him ever live it down.

He trusts Charlie, though, and knows that there won't be any need to worry about the truth getting out. Even with dragons crawling all over the place, there's something peaceful about the reserve. It's the first real holiday that he's taken in ages, so he tries to enjoy it. Even when he has to fight the urge to owl work and make sure there aren't any cases that need his attention.

When Charlie realizes that Harry's not someone who relaxes well by doing nothing, Harry gets put to work. He mucks stalls, helps build a fence, and feeds sheep that are kept to feed the dragons, which is something he'd rather not think about because they're friendly and kind of cute. So, he spends his days working around the reserve wherever he's needed, and his nights are spent with Charlie, drinking pints and talking until they fall asleep.

After he's been there for a week, Charlie finally takes him to meet a dragon. Boris is a Romanian Longhorn with a dark green hide and a long golden horn. Harry isn't really sure why anyone would name a dragon Boris, but the dragon seems to like it. Boris has long wings that Harry gently touches while Charlie stands behind him, making sure there are no sudden movements to spook Boris.

Harry listens to Charlie tell him about Boris, who is supposedly one of the few friendly dragons on the reserve. He's glad he wasn't introduced to one of the not friendly ones. Charlie's voice is soothing and does odd things to him, which is something he's noticed during the last week and usually tries to ignore. It's not so easy to ignore when Charlie's pressed up against his back and his voice is low in Harry's ear. He focuses on Boris and touches his wing, frowning as he feels the odd texture beneath his fingers.

Charlie moves his hand to rest on top of Harry's and urges him to move closer. He keeps touching at Charlie's instruction and is concentrating on Boris so much that he's surprised when he feels a rough hand on his belly. He tenses and bites his lip hard to keep from moaning as Charlie continues to talk about Boris and dragons while stroking Harry's skin beneath his t-shirt.

Harry doesn't protest when Charlie tells him to close his eyes, and he doesn't stop Charlie when he unfastens Harry's denims and slides his hand into his shorts. It feels too bloody brilliant to stop it, especially when he's been pretending not to think about this for days. Instead, he focuses on the amazing sensations of Charlie's hands on him and makes a much better memory association for dragons.

End


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